Bottom line: Wanda is sending a bad signal by emphasizing its government ties in its latest overseas mega-purchase, reflecting the complex relationship between major Chinese firms and Beijing.
Wanda bounces into sports marketing
If big Chinese companies are trying to show their independence from Beijing, then property giant Dalian Wanda isn’t doing a very good job with its just-announced $1.2 billion purchase of a major European sports marketing firm. The mega purchase of Swiss firm Infront Sports & Media is certainly a major feat, but Wanda has made a questionable decision in focusing on the how the deal will help Beijing’s bid to win more major sporting events, including the 2022 Winter Olympics. Of course I’m being just a tad cynical here, but this kind of talk certainly won’t help Wanda and other major private Chinese companies convince western skeptics of their independence from Beijing. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Shares of BAIC and Dalian Wanda will be flat over the next few months after weak trading debuts, while Linekong shares will open down 5-10 percent if they debut before year-end.
Dalian Wanda dips in IPO
The year-end flurry of IPOs happening in Hong Kong is sputtering, with the 2 biggest offerings by shopping mall operator Dalian Wanda (HKEx: 3699) and car maker BAIC Motor (HKEx: 1958) both making weak trading debuts. That doesn’t bode too well for one of the year’s final remaining IPOs for Linekong, since other companies from the highly competitive video gaming sector haven’t done very well in their similar recent listings in Hong Kong. Read Full Post…
Bottom line: Wanda chief Wang Jianlin could purchase a controlling stake in MGM as he looks to take over a Hollywood studio, while his Wanda Dalian property IPO will get a tepid reception but perform well over the longer term.
Wanda’s Wang Jianlin eyes Lions Gate, MGM
Property magnate Wang Jianlin is used to getting what he wants, but 2 new headlines indicate his Wanda Group may have to settle for compromise in a pair of its latest forays, one involving a Hong Kong IPO and the other involving his desire to purchase a major Hollywood studio. The former headline has Wang reportedly scaling back plans for a mega IPO in Hong Kong for Dalian Wanda, his group’s flagship property arm. The second and more intriguing news item has him seeking to buy a controlling stake in a major Hollywood studio, with Lions Gate (NYSE: LGF) and MGM mentioned as 2 possible candidates. Read Full Post…
I’ve stopped using the term “love affair” to describe the romance between Hollywood and China over the last 2 years, as it no longer seems sufficient to describe the flood of tie-ups that have emerged since China became the world’s second largest box office. The Long March of new deals has now gained 2 more members, with word that US film giant Warner Bros (NYSE: TWX) is in a major new movie financing deal with Shanghai Media Group (SMG), China’s leading regional maker of filmed entertainment. In a separate headline, other reports are saying that real estate giant Wanda Group is also deepening its own involvement in movie industry finance, by filing to make a domestic IPO for its movie theater business. Read Full Post…
Hong Kong may be disappointed about losing the world’s biggest Internet IPO with the imminent trading debut of Alibaba in New York, but it’s getting a nice consolation prize with word of a major new listing plan by top commercial property developer Wanda Group. The Wanda reports are getting much less coverage than they might normally due to Alibaba fever, which will see the Chinese e-commerce leader raise more than $20 billion when its shares start trading on Friday in New York. But at up to $6 billion, the IPO for Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties will still qualify as one of the world’s biggest offerings for 2014. Read Full Post…
I don’t usually pay too much attention to the domestic Chinese IPO market, largely because most companies that list on the main boards in Shanghai and Shenzhen are stodgy state-run firms that aren’t open to foreign investment anyhow. But new reports that fast-rising real estate and entertainment star Wanda Group is planning 2 new offerings this year actually got me just slightly excited, especially as word buzzes that one of those will be for the company’s rapidly expanding China-based theater chain. While such an offering would almost inevitably come on one of the mainland-based stock exchanges, it would also probably attract huge attention from global investors if Wanda’s billionaire founder Wang Jianlin were to consider a dual listing in Hong Kong. Read Full Post…
Media have been buzzing about possible acquisition targets by Wanda Group, a top Chinese real estate firm, after the company’s talkative founder Wang Jianlin disclosed he has a massive warchest for global purchases. Some have speculated the new buying binge could focus on hotels or other service-oriented businesses, following Wanda’s big recent moves into the hospitality business and its landmark purchase last year of AMC Entertainment, the second largest US movie theater operator. But I would bet my money on real estate, as that’s what Wang knows best and it’s an area where Chinese firms in general have shown a strong interest in buying overseas assets. Read Full Post…
DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) is dropping the “animation” part of its name in its year-old China joint venture, with word of a major new expansion that underscores the Chinese film market’s growing clout. Word of the expansion comes as Wang Jianlin, China’s newly named richest man, also makes a big bet on Hollywood, with his multiple investments in movie theaters and related technology via has Wanda Group empire. DreamWorks and Wang are both chasing a Chinese film market that is growing at breakneck pack, and is now the world’s second largest after only the US. DreamWorks is also setting its sights on China’s rapidly transforming TV market, where the Internet and other new delivery channels look set to shake up the traditionally slow-moving sector. Read Full Post…
Digital Domain gets new owner, Wanda expands Imax ties
A couple of news bits are highlighting China’s rapidly blossoming love affair with Hollywood, and also hinting at the turbulence we’re likely to see in the next couple of years as Chinese firms invest too much as they become smitten with show business. One of those deals has US digital effects house Digital Domain being taken over by a new Chinese owner less than a year after it was purchased out of bankruptcy by a Beijing-based film producer. The other has leading theater chain owner Wanda Group significantly boosting its ties with Canada’s Imax (Toronto: IMX), as it invests heavily in Imax’s big-screen technology. Read Full Post…
Commercial real estate giant Wanda Group is continuing its recent global push, with announcements of a new major purchase of a British yacht maker and plans to build new high-end hotels in New York and London. While some of the plans look interesting, I do think that perhaps this company has just a bit too much money and even more ambition, and that it may be moving too quickly into unfamiliar areas both in terms of products and geography. It’s obviously way too early to predict success or failure for any of these new ventures, but I would caution the company to perhaps slow its rapid overseas expansion or risk running into some major problems in the future. Read Full Post…
Following its landmark purchase of a major US theater chain last year, real estate giant Wanda has embarked on a spending spree to upgrade its new facilities with a major new deal to buy state-of-the-art sound systems from Dolby (NYSE: DLB). The move is the latest in a steady stream of big announcements over the last year that has suddenly thrust one of China’s top real estate companies onto the global stage, as it looks to become one of the world’s biggest theater chain operators. Read Full Post…
